each node of El Capitan. The 3rd Gen AMD Infinity Architecture includes unified memory across the CPU and GPU, easing programmer access to accelerated computing. An enhanced version of the open-source

ROCm heterogeneous programming environment, being developed to tap into the combined performance of AMD CPUs and GPUs, which AMD reports is aimed at ‘unlocking maximum performance’. LLNL Lab Director Bill Goldstein

AMD has announced the next supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) named ‘El Capitan’, will deliver more than two exaflops of double-precision performance. El Capitan will integrate advanced features

not yet widely deployed, including HPE’s Cray Slingshot interconnect network, which enables large calculations across many nodes, an essential requirement for the NNSA laboratories’ simulation workloads. The system, powered by AMD EPYC CPUs, AMD Radeon Instinct GPUs and open-source AMD ROCm heterogeneous computing software, will be delivered in early 2023. ‘El Capitan will drive unprecedented

advancements in HPC and AI, powered by the next-generation AMD EPYC CPUs and Radeon Instinct GPUs,’ said Forrest Norrod, senior vice president and general manager, Datacenter and Embedded Systems Group, AMD.

‘Building on our strong foundation in high-performance computing and adding transformative coherency capabilities, AMD is enabling the NNSA Tri-Lab community – LLNL and the Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories – to achieve their mission-critical objectives and contribute

new AI advancements to the industry. We are extremely proud to continue our exascale work with HPE and NNSA and look forward to the delivery of the most powerful supercomputer in the world expected in early 2023.’

The AMD based nodes will be optimised

to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) workloads to potentially enable the expanded use of AI and ML into the research, computational techniques and analysis that benefits NNSA missions. The system will make use of AMD EPYC

generation memory and I/O subsystems for AI and HPC workloads, El Capitan will use Radeon Instinct GPUs based on a new compute-optimised architecture for workloads including HPC and AI. These GPUs will use the next- generation high bandwidth memory and are designed for deep learning performance, The 3rd Gen AMD Infinity Architecture

will provide a high-bandwidth, low latency connection between the four Radeon Instinct GPUs and one AMD EPYC CPU included in

stated: ‘This unprecedented computing capability, powered by advanced CPU and GPU technology from AMD, will sustain America’s position on the global stage in high performance computing and provide an observable example of the commitment

“This unprecedented computing capability will sustain America’s position on the global stage”

of the country to maintaining an unparalleled nuclear deterrent. Today’s news provides a prime example of how government and industry can work together for the benefit of the entire nation.’ Peter Ungaro, senior vice president and

general manager, HPC and Mission Critical Solutions (MCS) at HPE said: ‘We are pleased to partner with AMD to bring together HPE’s Cray Shasta architecture with latest AMD EPYC CPUs and Radeon Instinct GPUs and provide technology in support of the mission- critical HPC and AI workloads for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.’

while providing a sober assessment of the potential of these devices to solve problems that are impractical to run on traditional hardware. Troyer will wrap up the keynote by demonstrating how quantum computing is leading to new software approaches for HPC systems. Even without the benefit of quantum hardware, these quantum-inspired techniques are outperforming traditional software on a number of key applications. The closing keynote on HPC Achievement and Impact – 2020, on Wednesday 24 June will

be delivered by long-time favourite, Professor Thomas Sterling of Indiana University. As is his tradition, Sterling will present his annual retrospective of the most important developments in HPC over the past year, as well as the major trends reshaping the industry. Sterling’s closing address this year promises

to be more wide-ranging than his usual retrospective, as he traces the intersection of long-term trends involving the diminishing prospects of Moore’s Law, the lengthening lifetimes systems, the consolidation of the HPC market, and the ascent of machine learning. He

will also touch on emerging technologies, such as quantum and neuromorphic computing and what they represent in the rapidly changing landscape of high performance computing. Focusing on more immediate concerns,

Sterling will offer his perspective on the final sprint to exascale computing, a race which will almost certainly be decided in the next year or two, or conceivably, even by the time this keynote is delivered. All of these topics and more will be woven together with Sterling’s usual wit and wisdom, promising to engage and entertain all those who attend.